Socio-economic statistics for Silkstone, Barnsley

Is Silkstone in Barnsley a nice place to live or is it a bit rough? We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics and demographics from UK government sources such as the 2021 Census and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They should give you a broad snapshot of the area and the surrounding locations. Are the residents of Silkstone older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Silkstone and Barnsley? What is the claimant count in Silkstone and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

Silkstone Health Statistics

Penistone East has more residents (very_good_pc-$country_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Penistone East	48.93%	33.64%	12.53%	3.81%	1.09%
Barnsley	43.35%	33.61%	15.54%	5.83%	1.68%
Yorkshire and The Humber	46.18%	34.31%	13.7%	4.49%	1.32%
England	48.49%	33.71%	12.65%	3.98%	1.17%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How has the health of residents in Barnsley changed since 2011?

Barnsley residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.78% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	41.6%	33.58%	16.42%	6.61%	1.79%
2021	43.35%	33.61%	15.54%	5.83%	1.68%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Silkstone Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Penistone East.

Age Band	Proportion
4 & under
5 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 49 years
50 - 64 years
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years & over

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Silkstone Unemployment Statistics

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, The Department for Work & Pensions have not issued any statistics (in our view) that can be used to ascertain the levels of unemployment or under employment in the UK, just meaningless geographic counts. However, the Office of National Statistics does publish claimant counts of people receiving out of work benefits, be that legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit as a proportion of people over 16. These figures are usually updated once a month and are for Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authority Districts. So below are the figures of Barnsley.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Barnsley	3.6%	-0.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber	4.2%	-0.3%
England	3.8%	-0.3%
UK	3.7%	-0.3%

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Last Retrieved: March 2023

The 2021 census had data on people who were economically active (seeking work) yet unemployed on Census day (Sunday March 21st 2021). These statitics do cover Silkstone on a ward level. However, it has to be noted that the Census day was during the height of the Covid19 pandemic and therefore are not reflective of normal levels of unemployment. For example, between March 2020 and June 2020 people claiming Universal Credit doubled in most areas of the United Kingdom and then steadily declined up to the day of the Census and beyond. This data also contains the proportion of people in part-time work (working between 1-35 hours per week), which maybe an indicator of under employment in Silkstone.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	54.66%
In Part-Time Work	28.44%
Unemployed	2.32%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

71.56% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Silkstone

Silkstone Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Silkstone residents have in terms of formal qualifications as a percentage. The UK government breaks qualifications down into 7 levels. A detailed explanation of these levels can be found here. However, the Census groups these into just 4 \'levels\'. Here are some examples of the qualifications each census level represents when not stated;

Level 1 - GCSE grades D, E, F, or G & below
Level 2 - GCSE A*, A, B, C or O Level grades A, B or C
Level 3 - A or AS qualification at any grade
Level 4 - HNC, Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or Phd

In this first table we have compared Silkstone to the national average for England.

Level	Penistone East	England
No Qualifications	15.26%	18.08%
Level 1	8%	9.69%
Level 2	13.02%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.8%	5.32%
Level 3	16.48%	16.92%
Level 4	38.92%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Silkstone?

The largest employment sector in Silkstone is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	23.73%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	19.81%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.3%
Skilled Trades	10.62%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.46%
Elementary Occupations	6.6%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	5.89%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	4.81%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Silkstone & Barnsley Immigration Statistics

We have analysed the Census 2021 raw data on country of birth and compiled immigration statistics as percentages of the population. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. Below are the figures for Silkstone in the Barnsley local area district.

Silkstone has a lower rate of immigrants than Barnsley, the Yorkshire and The Humber region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Penistone East	97%	3%
Barnsley	93.57%	6.43%
Yorkshire and The Humber	88.65%	11.35%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Silkstone compared to other wards in Barnsley

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Central	79.64%	20.36%
2	Kingstone	79.97%	20.03%
3	Stairfoot	91.16%	8.84%
4	Old Town	91.36%	8.64%
5	Darfield	93.01%	6.99%
6	Wombwell	93.1%	6.9%
7	Dearne North	93.17%	6.83%
8	St Helens	93.63%	6.37%
9	Worsbrough	94.66%	5.34%
10	Monk Bretton	94.73%	5.27%
11	North East	95.02%	4.98%
12	Cudworth	95.4%	4.6%
13	Dearne South	95.47%	4.53%
14	Dodworth	95.99%	4.01%
15	Darton West	96.5%	3.5%
16	Darton East	96.62%	3.38%
17	Hoyland Milton	96.85%	3.15%
18	Penistone East	97%	3%
19	Royston	97.01%	2.99%
20	Penistone West	97.17%	2.83%
21	Rockingham	97.48%	2.52%

';Silkstone is ranked 18 out of 21 wards in Barnsley for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Silkstone and Barnsley

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Silkstone either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 77.45 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 22.55 of Silkstone residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Penistone East	77.45%	22.55%
Barnsley	62.33%	37.67%
Yorkshire and The Humber	62.58%	37.42%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Silkstone has a significantly higher level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically wealthy area.

Silkstone compared to other wards in Barnsley

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Penistone East	77.45%	22.55%
2	Penistone West	75.66%	24.34%
3	Dodworth	75.36%	24.64%
4	Darton West	74.85%	25.15%
5	Darton East	74.29%	25.71%
6	Royston	66.86%	33.14%
7	Old Town (Barnsley)	65.17%	34.83%
8	Rockingham	65.05%	34.95%
9	Cudworth	64.88%	35.12%
10	Dearne South	63.09%	36.91%
11	Darfield	62.02%	37.98%
12	North East	62%	38%
13	Hoyland Milton	61.03%	38.97%
14	Wombwell	58.67%	41.33%
15	Monk Bretton	58.15%	41.85%
16	Worsbrough	57.85%	42.15%
17	Stairfoot	56.17%	43.83%
18	Dearne North	50.61%	49.39%
19	Central (Barnsley)	49.5%	50.5%
20	St Helens (Barnsley)	47.37%	52.63%
21	Kingstone	45.61%	54.39%

Silkstone is ranked 1 out of 21 wards in Barnsley for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Silkstone and Barnsley?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Barnsley including Silkstone. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Central	12715
Cudworth	11705
Darfield	11146
Darton East	11136
Darton West	10961
Dearne North	11361
Dearne South	12459
Dodworth	10621
Hoyland Milton	12260
Kingstone	11971
Monk Bretton	12141
North East	13714
Old Town	11280
Penistone East	12219
Penistone West	12889
Rockingham	11129
Royston	11409
St Helens	11141
Stairfoot	12843
Wombwell	13181
Worsbrough	9790
Barnsley Total	248071

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Last updated: 20/02/2024, Additional Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.

Top 20 most depressing towns in Britain 2024